Album Review: Stitched Up Heart - Darkness

We talk often about bands that are doing interesting things with their music, but not so much about bands that are doing interesting things with their music. The world we live in now is not one where every album follows the same path or marketing, promotion, and release. There are a lot of ways of getting your music to the fans, and we get an interesting example of that from Stitched Up Heard with this release, which has been in the making for half a year.

The band has been releasing singles, roughly one per month, for that long, with the vast majority of the record already listened to be many of us before we get to this release date. That makes for an interesting experience, hearing a record taking shape slowly, being intimately familiar with the music when sitting down for the first time to hear the record as a whole. I can't answer the question of whether it was an effective strategy from a marketing perspective, but I can give my own take as a fan. We'll get to that at the end.

But let's talk about the music. Stitched Up Heart is giving us a record that is modern rock, but also a diverse ride through many of the things that phrase entails. The record kicks off with "Lost", which I really liked as a single, and which works beautifully as an opener. The riff is huge, the sound is heavy and modern, and the hook is pure ear candy. It's excellent modern rock with the perfect blend of heaviness and melody.

That describes the majority of the record. If you think of New Year's Day's album from last year, you'll have a pretty good idea of what Stitched Up Heart is doing. They aren't pushing things as aggressively, which makes this record easier to digest and enjoy. Mixi's the star of the show, with her passionate vocals driving the strong hooks, and a tone that plays well against the guitars. Her voice is beautiful without losing its power, which isn't all that easy to achieve.

"Problems" is the catchiest song of the bunch, with a groove-heavy riff, some skittering effects on the vocals, and a chorus that could be a modern pop hit. It's them taking the Billie Eilish formula, and turning it into heavy rock instead. I didn't hear the song that way when it was first released, but in time I started to see it differently, and now it fits into the album in a way I wasn't expecting. There are a few of those effects and production tricks scattered through the record, which ground everything in the here and now, which you can interpret how you want.

The biggest detour is "Crooked Halo", which leaves rock behind for an approach that is almost entirely pop, the dark and quiet kind of modern pop, to be precise. It's my least favorite song on the album, which is otherwise stacked with track after track delivering hooks the crowds will be singing back from the pit on tour, but it does serve as a pivot point where the album can take a breather and keep our ears fresh.

It feels like I've been waiting forever for this album to arrive, and yes, it was worth it. Stitched Up Heart have given us a fun, vibrant rock record that has both broad and deep appeal. I think it's as good a record as the mainstream rock scene is going to see this year, but I have to address the elephant in the room. By releasing so many songs over such a long time before the album dropped, there's less excitement in hearing the record as an entirety. It wouldn't have been better if I heard every song fresh at the same time, but it was a bit odd hearing an album I already knew so much about.

If you haven't been following the singles, then you're in for a treat. "Darkness" is this year's "Breath In Colors" (from Forever Still); the album that makes modern rock sound beautiful, emotional, and really damn good.